Life, 1918-05-16 · page 25 of 40
Life — May 16, 1918 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct satirical pieces, likely from around World War I: **Top left:** "Silver-Tongued Willie" depicts a caricatured figure (likely a U.S. politician or pacifist) standing on soap, labeled a "slacker" for opposing the war effort while the nation fights. The accompanying "Hymn of Hate" poem denounces him as working "for the Kaiser" despite his rhetoric. **Top right:** George Arliss appears in film promotion for *The Devil* and *Paganini*—separate entertainment content. **Bottom:** "Blockheads!" shows a German official alarmed by English unpredictability. "The Hypnotist" depicts propaganda manipulation—a figure hypnotizing another to "vote for prohibition," satirizing how public opinion is manufactured through persuasion rather than genuine conviction. The overall page reflects WWI-era American anxieties: suspicion of war opponents, contempt for perceived disloyalty, and cynicism about propaganda and political manipulation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ornurss | THE DISRAELI| DEVIL, HISTORIC BOYS SILVER-TONGUED WILLIE GEORGIE ARLISS Hymn of Hate Blockheads! (Partially Deleted by the Censor) ERMAN OFFICIAL: Heavens! These English are “ so inefficient that we never know what they will do E is known to you all, he is known to you all ' ’ 3 next! s one who is deaf to his country’s call— A slacker in word and a slacker in deed, In spite of the nation’s dire need; And while our sons go forth to fight He works for the Kaiser with all his might; He prates and rants of a Prussian peace While the nation prays that his noise may cease; And the Senate sits with a senile stare, And lets him rave—and does not care; But men are arrested who dare to say Less traitorous things than he says each day. Come, hear the word, repeat the word, From Maine to Oregon make it heard: Hate of the brave and hate of the free, Hate of the earth and hate of the sea, Hate of the heart and hate of the hand Follows this foe of his native land— ig ti = you a general houseworker?” THE HYPNOTIST “Well, 1 did housework for a general.” “NOW SAY AFTER ME, ‘I'LL VOTE FOR PROHIBITION ’” comicbooks.com